


hidden faults

by rosebud1000



Series: rosebud rambles [7]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Episode: s03 Desperada, F/M, Fluff, Guardian Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, Ladrien | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27594685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosebud1000/pseuds/rosebud1000
Summary: Marinette knows that Adrien should have a miraculous, but she always seems to give him the wrong one. After yet another hero gone awry, she can't hide her tears, and who's Adrien to let his lady think she's a failure?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: rosebud rambles [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1891150
Comments: 4
Kudos: 174





	hidden faults

**Author's Note:**

> this has been sitting in my docs with two sentences left to write for a few months. enjoy!

“I’m sorry, Adrien,” Ladybug said, taking the necklace he held out to her. Yet again, they were hidden in an alley after an akuma, Adrien returning a miraculous he had failed to use. If the disappearance of Le Renard had coincided with Chat Noir joining the battle, well… there was magic protecting his identity.

He shrugged. “Maybe I’m just not cut out to be a hero.”

Ladybug shook her head. “But, you are. I  _ know _ that you’d make a good hero. I can’t find the right miraculous, that’s all.”

Adrien paused, considering how to respond. He didn’t know exactly how many there were in the box, but he knew that having tried five was a lot. 

“I think… that you have more important things to worry about than me.”

Her face fell and her eyes shone with tears. “This isn’t just about you, though. I’m supposed to know this kind of thing, who to give what miracuous. I’m the guardian  _ because _ I know this kind of thing, and right now, I’m failing.”

Oh. Of course, Adrien had known being the guardian was hard for her. But she was always so adamant to not share things with Chat. What made her say these things to Adrien, then? What was so much better about Adrien  _ Agreste _ that— 

There would be no use getting mad at her. She was bottling up her emotions, and now they were exploding. It wasn’t her fault that was happening on Adrien and not Chat Noir.

“You’re not failing. You’re incredible. You’re a superhero, and you have a civilian life, and you’re the guardian, which can’t be easy.” Adrien remembered that  _ he _ didn’t know about Master Fu. “Not that I know what that means.”

“And now I’ve gone and told you I’m the guardian,” she said as she stepped forward and let her head fall on his chest.

_ That was unexpected. _ Adrien let out a breath and put an arm around her. “I’m not going to tell anyone.”

“I’m not even a good guardian. Look at you! I swear, you should be a miraculous wielder. But I can’t figure out which one, and that’s my entire job. Maybe I shouldn’t even be Ladybug…”

Oh, hell no. Adrien was not for a second, going to let his lady think that she shouldn’t be a hero.

He placed a hand on her cheek, tilting her face up and catching a tear on his thumb. “You are about to be very mad at me,” he told her, “but it will be very worth it.

“You’re right. I should have a miraculous. But you’re not going to be able to give it to me. And I’m not going to let you beat yourself up over it. The miraculous I’m most suited for isn’t in the box. I already have it.” He turned his hand to show her his ring.

“What?”

“Like I said, very mad at me, my lady.”

Ladybug hugged him tighter and her hair tickled his chin. She was mumbling something he couldn’t make out, her voice warbled by more tears.

“...You  _ are _ mad at me, right?”

“Oh,  _ minou. _ ” She lifted her head, a smile forming. Her eyes flitted across his face. He could tell what she was thinking as her gaze landed on his feature. His hair, which wasn’t nearly as messy as Chat’s, but had certainly been tousled by the yoyo ride here. His eyes, the same shade of green limited to his irises. And his lips, which— Ladybug was looking at his lips. It’d be stupid to think she was going to kiss him, right?

Ladybug cleared her throat, suddenly very interested in something just past his shoulder.

“Thank you, Adrien,” she said. “You’re the best partner I could’ve asked for. Tikki… spots off.”

Adrien’s heart skipped a beat. “Marinette?”

“I couldn’t leave the reveal one-sided, chaton,” she said, her cheeks red. “And, it gives me more precedent for this.”

Before Adrien could make sense of what was happening, Marinette leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Adrien’s hand caught her head as she turned away, which brought her eyes back to him. She gasped, but tilted her head ever so slightly in his direction.

Her lips tasted sweet, her fingers curled on the back of his next and sent shivers down his spine. He reached down to find her other hand, the cool metal of the fox miraculous clasped in her fist. Maybe all those failures were worth something after all.


End file.
